Work your #CBL chops!

We have been seeing a lot of educators make connections with their classes around the world. Some have developed #ClassPartnerships on a global scale through the innovation project spearheaded by Koen Timmers:

Take a look at these 116 innovations, made by students across 6 continents, to make the world a better place. Awesomeness happens when empathy and @GlobalGoalsUN are introduced in classrooms around the world. https://t.co/kqizhFM6BF #sdginnopro. pic.twitter.com/1Ml8CS3etL

— Koen Timmers (@zelfstudie) May 20, 2018

Others are employing #ExpertLearning and #OrganizationSupport more locally with mentorship relationships like this connection these students had with the Garage at Microsoft Vancouver:

https://t.co/INhIrRPNfD

— Microsoft Vancouver (@MicrosoftVan) May 22, 2018

My response is simple: Don't Stop.

You have experienced the power of connection. You have seen the effects on your students and their learning. You have built meaningful connections that have made a difference for your students and possibly even the world around. Keep it going! In fact, I would ask that you consider other connections as you take next steps.

#CommunityEngagement 

Now that you have made some connections around the world, are there connections that need to be made right back in your own community?

- Are there needs to be addressed in your own school?
- Are your students mentoring younger students with the learning they have gained?
- Are there ways of connecting your class with another in the school to work on something cross curricular?
- Are there needs in the neighbourhood that your class can address?
- Is there a way your class can serve the local community?

#ExpertLearning

Are your students getting into things of which you are not the expert? GOOD! That is the way it is suppose to be. You are a linchpin now. How can you facilitate connections with the expertise your students need to go to the next level?

- Into what topics is your class delving that an expert could add up-to-the-minute discoveries to the learning?
- Is there a coding expert with whom you can connect your students as they develop software?
- Is there someone that can help them MAKE in response to a connection?
- Have you tapped into the expertise that is present in the parent community?

#OrganizationSupport

We must keep mindful that there are others that are working on the same goals as us. When I speak of organization support, I am thinking of a two way street: how are we supporting the organizations that need our help? But also, how can organizations assist us in achieving our goals?

- Are there organizations in which your students are passionate?
- As your students consider the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, are organizations that they can work along side to address needs?
- Have you seen a group offering mentorship opportunities in a certain area?
- Is there a way to partner with local service groups to have a positive impact?

#ClassPartnerships

Maybe you have been connecting with mentors, experts, and organizations, but you have not made a connection with other classes. A great way to open the door to empathy with your students is to connect them with other students. As I mention in the CBL book, the more we connect with those who are different from us, the more we develop who we are.

- Is there a way your students can collaborate with another class as they pursue a certain learning outcome?
- Are there connections your class already has through apps like Belouga that you have not pressed into?
- Is there a way that your class can work with another on a common topic, interest, or goal?

So what are you afraid of?

This is not a rhetorical question. In fact, that is the question for this weeks #CBLchat Voxer community. We have been meandering through the Connections-based Learning book, looking at the Vision Checkup questions, and we are in chapter 6 entitled #CollaborationLens. The question asks:

Do you have a fear of sharing? (and might I add, do you have fears or concerns about connecting in any of these ways?) What are the roots of this fear? How do they need to be addressed?